


An Interview with Elizaveta Tuktamysheva

by orphan_account



Series: Vampire AU [6]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: A lot a lot of naive politics, Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, Off-screen branding, Written in the format of an interview transcript, but it’s with good intentions, i’m not sure but I’ll label it as dub-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 02:45:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19820929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In which the new Constitution was finally passed, and the Treaty of Lausanne was largely restored. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, the spokesperson of the international organisation, was interviewed by a newspaper. She told the true story behind the Vevey Incident 200 years ago, which indirectly caused the Treaty to be evoked.Set 200 years after 'The Sun Will Rise'





	An Interview with Elizaveta Tuktamysheva

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a native speaker of English, and this work has not been beta'd. All mistakes are mine, and pls don't hesitate to tell me if you find any of them!  
> This is completely fictional.  
> H=Host, E=Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.

H:  
Good Afternoon, Madam. Firstly, congratulations on the success in the last reading of the new Constitution, which is considered to be a great achievement in the history of not only the vampires and the humans, but also the whole world of intelligent species. However, you told the reporters immediately after the reading, in front of the government building when everyone was celebrating for it, “It has surely been our belief for a long time, but it is also the last wish of our friends who had given their lives for it. History should also remember them, and all the sacrifices they’ve made.” From just a little bit research, it’s not difficult to find out whom you were referring to. One of the original delegates in Lausanne Convention and the principal ratifiers of the famous treaty, although quite infamous just two hundred years ago, and a crisis responder. Could you tell us more about them?

E:  
It’s a very long story. I met Stéphane in the Multi-Species Relation Office, when I became a responder. And Christopher…Well, I can’t remember exactly. Of course I had known his name for a long time before personally knowing him. Now, with the new Constitution and media coverage, it’s quite easy to know what they’ve done from the establishment of the ‘Lausanne system’, which our new constitution was born from, all the way to the abolishment of the Treaty and their….execution. If you’d bother to go to the archive in our national library now, you’ll find the original Treaty and 35 amendments, over eighty percent which Chris took part in drafting them. Stéph investigated countless cases in his 15 years as a responder. It is fair to say that they’ve given all their lives for today. I’m sure they’ll glad to see the new Constitution, if they were still around.

H:  
I’m sure everyone admires them for their work and effort. You’ve said they were your friends, and we’d like to offer our sincere condolences for your loss many years ago. However, as we look through the case report of Vevey Incident, their personal relationship was described as ‘abusive’ and ‘controlling’, which was attested by a young vampire under their custody. Do you wish to comment on it?

E:  
First and foremost, let me put this straight. The portrayal of their personal relationship was NOT attested by the vampire staying with them. I was in the court when he was called to attest, but the way he was questioned was far from fair. The main issue debated then was that he was asked if there was any abuse. He did not know what abuse means, and they simply read it from the dictionary to him. He said ‘yes, but…’ and the prosecutors did not allow him to offer any further explanations or supplementary materials. I shouldn’t, and have no intention to, comment on their personal intimate relationship and their lifestyles. The witness later told me he said ‘yes’ because he saw a biting, and as a vampire, he knew biting a human certainly brings a certain level of pain. I’m not saying that it should be encouraged, but I was personally saved by a human friend when there was no blood packs out there on the field. It could be completely consensual, and to me, it’s ultimate trust from the human friend. But very unfortunately, they did not allow him to explain what his ‘yes’ meant in court that day. His testimony was further distorted when the media published articles about the incident. From what I know, I must say their relationship was based on trust and love, just the opposite of what it is believed to be for two hundred years. And they were always on the same page, throughout their life, from the time they met, all the way to when they were taken into custody, then imprisoned, and finally faced the their tragic fate together. 

H:  
But it was true that when the Vevey Incident happened, Chris declared to his fellow vampires that “that’s mine” and even branded him. You were present as well on that day. This was even verified by themselves.

E:  
The situation two hundred years ago is very different from today. From the original Treaty, it was clear that there were vampires who lived in the woods and basically, took humans as their prey. Stéph was kidnapped during an investigation in Vevey. I ran back to ask for Chris’s help, and the only way to get him back as soon as possible was to declare so. ‘Personal possessions should be marked’ was a common belief in vampires then. We did not have time to submit the case to the Arbitration Court and wait for a decision to get him back. If you go and read some history or even news 50 years ago, it’s not difficult to understand that a vampire could kill a human within a few days when the human was kept captive. And Stéph did explain, many times, that although he was not able to express his opinions when the branding took place, he understood the decision and would consent to it if he was conscious. Again, it’s very unfortunate that his statement was misinterpreted as how controlling their relationship was.

H:  
And then, about their final conviction. Do you think it was unfair?

E:  
Yes. Of course, if you look back today with the new Constitution in place, it’s unbelievable that those two people who worked so much for the harmony between species, were convicted of treason and espionage then. However, even in this case, when whom they worked for betrayed them by sentencing them to death, not even a painless death, they still made an effort to write essays to defend the treaty and called for calm negotiations between species. They believed in inter-species friendship and cooperation. We, a group of former responders, tried to publish their last essays, or letters, to the public. They were never published on paper, and because the Treaty was annulled before they wrote the letters, even online media was censored. But it will be published soon, with other essays written by them, and other pioneers of this modern Enlightenment.

H:  
Speaking of their deaths, even then, there were comments saying it was brutal and inhumane.

E:  
I couldn’t believe it was a decision made by a modern court. Even if you believe someone did something that is punishable by death, the bottom line is that it should be immediate. Exposing a vampire to direct sunlight for over thirty minutes and letting a human to die from gradual blood loss, while both of them were in excruciating pain, were barbaric. I did not understand the decision, but…with the abolishment of the Treaty, everything was in chaos. There were hatred, prejudices, public shaming, all that. It was a nightmare for other species living in human society, and humans not living in their native land. I still remembered that all other species in the responder group were even watched by some police. We were forced to flee after bidding farewell to both of them.

H:  
So you did meet them personally after their conviction? Did they say anything to you?

E:  
That was figurative. They were not allowed to meet anyone, not even each other. The responders, those worked in the office, and other original delegates of the ratifiers of the treaty, met in someone’s house to watch the broadcast. I couldn’t even describe the atmosphere then. It was silent apart from sobbing. We faced the direction of the mountains where execution took place and bowed to them. Although we lived in different corners all around the country afterwards, we worked for today. It’s not only our own beliefs. It’s something more. But Stéph did write a letter to us. He asked us to be calm, to hold on to our beliefs whatever they are. Quite similar to what both of them wrote as the Letters to the Public, but in a more personal and friendly way. 

H:  
Looking back today, we certainly understand what the pioneers did for us. In to the future, have you thought of anything which remind us of all that?

E:  
Yes, indeed. The monument is now standing on the place where the execution took place, and a tombstone-although they were not resting there-was established. And I like the inscriptions on the monument. ‘In the memory of the pioneers who have initiated inter-species harmony and held on to their beliefs throughout their lives, despite misunderstandings and hardship. Their sacrifices are forever honored in the history of our earth.’ I just want to say thank you to the author, who is a young human and doesn’t know them personally when they were alive. But he knows them in another way. Also, the sculpture of them in front of the monument, with Chris holding the Treaty book and Stéph carrying his pistol, is a masterpiece. They were defending their beliefs in their own ways. Finally, the young witness suggested the inscription on their tombstone, ‘Les Camarades et Les Amants*’, which is an extremely apt description. 

H:  
We knew that the chateau where they lived is now under the care of a trust, and would be open to public as a museum soon. As one of the member of the planning committee, can you give us some spoilers? What can we expect from the new museum?

E:  
It was aimed to educate the public about the origins of the current Constitution. From the Treaty of Lausanne, with the original documents and anecdotes of the delegates, to the current work on our Constitution. Many historically important incidents will also be explained, including the Basel Amendment which allowed species to apply for settlement in other species’ lands, and of course, the Vevey Incident and the abolishment of the Treaty. Since the museum was once their residency, some aspects of their life will be on exhibition as well, including old photos, letters, extracts of emails, and anecdotes of their friends. We wish that everyone can see the history as a big picture, but also understand that history is made by men, who have real emotions and who are able to love others, instead of ice-cold names of ‘legends’ in the books.–By saying ‘men’, it includes all intelligent species, male, female and non-binary.

**Author's Note:**

> Les Camarades et Les Amants: the comrades and the lovers.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The two hundred years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19831081) by [acupofteaime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acupofteaime/pseuds/acupofteaime), [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




End file.
